Ketamine-Assisted Therapy

in Emeryville, California

A softer way forward.

Despite all the inner work you’ve done, you find yourself caught in a well worn emotional and physical loop, a loop that has worn itself into a rut. You might feel stuck in old patterns that talk therapy alone hasn’t been able to shift. You might feel disconnected from yourself, emotionally numb, or weighed down by a lingering sense of hopelessness. It can feel like you’re living on autopilot. You may struggle to access your emotions or even know what you’re feeling at all. For some, it’s a deep sense of being lost or empty, without a clear way forward. When you try to explain what’s wrong, the words often fall short.

Create space for transformation.

What is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy?

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a form of psychedelic-assisted therapy that combines the use of ketamine with psychotherapy to support deeper emotional healing.

I offer KAP in my practice for clients who are seeking more profound breakthroughs or who feel stuck in traditional talk therapy. KAP can help accelerate progress, especially for those struggling with depression, anxiety, or PTSD, particularly when other treatments haven’t brought lasting relief. In this model, I guide the therapy portion of the process while my medical partners handle the medical evaluation and prescribe the ketamine.

KAP can be especially helpful if you find it hard to open up in therapy, feel disconnected from your emotions, or aren’t sure where to start. The ketamine experience often brings forward insights, memories, or emotional shifts that can be explored more deeply in our work together. I support clients throughout the entire process, from preparation to integration.

I've witnessed the powerful impact of KAP in my personal life and in my work, and I believe it can be a life-changing option for the right person.

If you’re curious about whether KAP might be a good fit for you, I’m happy to answer any questions you have.

Now imagine what it might be like to step outside of that loop.

In a supported ketamine-assisted therapy process, many clients find access to emotional insight that once felt locked away. You may begin to reconnect with parts of yourself that have been shut down or hidden for years. The inner critic quiets, and you begin to feel more open, curious, and connected. With the right support, ketamine can help soften rigid thought patterns, ease emotional resistance, and create a sense of spaciousness where healing can unfold. You may not have all the answers right away, but the fog lifts, and you begin to move toward a life that feels more aligned, more alive, and more fully your own.

What is Ketamine and How does it Work in the Brain?

Ketamine is a legal, well-studied medicine with rapid antidepressant and mood-stabilizing effects. Unlike traditional antidepressants, which can take weeks to work, ketamine often brings noticeable relief within hours, with effects that may last for days or weeks. It’s widely used in hospitals around the world, is included on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines, and has a strong safety profile—so much so that it's commonly used in pediatric care.

In mental health treatment, ketamine works by targeting the brain’s glutamate system, which plays a key role in mood, memory, and thought patterns. It promotes neuroplasticity, or the brain’s ability to form new pathways and break out of rigid, repetitive loops. A helpful way to think about this is to imagine your brain as a ski slope. Over time, you keep skiing the same trails, carving deep grooves into the snow. Ketamine acts like a fresh snowfall—smoothing the surface and giving you a chance to choose a new path forward. This "reset" creates an opening for meaningful emotional and cognitive healing.

Initial Consult (20 Minutes)

Set up a free consultation with me (a psychotherapist trained in KAP) to see if we’re a good fit for each other. You’ll have a chance to ask questions, share what’s bringing you to therapy, and get a feel for how I work. If we decide to move forward, we’ll schedule your medical consultation.

Medical Consultation

Once I’ve assessed your appropriateness for KAP from a psychotherapy lens, I will get you scheduled for a medical consult for a doctor led assessment and treatment plan. If determined to be a good candidate for KAP, you will be sent a prescription and the medication will be mailed to you. You will then bring this medication with you to our sessions.

Preparation Sessions

We’ll set up an intention setting session, where we’ll go into more depth as to what you might experience during your ketamine journey, as well as what your goals are in working with ketamine. 

Dosing Sessions

You’ll come in for a 3 hour session where you will self administer the medication and I will be with you throughout to guide and support you.

Integrations Sessions

Following your dosing session, we will do integration work and follow up sessions where we will really work to bridge the gap between your ketamine journey experience and your everyday lived experience so you can take advantage of the neuroplastic window created by ketamine.

FAQs about Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy

  • Ketamine is a legal, safe, and effective medicine used to treat a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. It has rapid antidepressant and mood-enhancing effects, often noticeable within hours and can last for weeks. It works by targeting the neurotransmitter glutamate, which influences mood and thought patterns.

    Ketamine promotes neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to form new connections. It can be administered in a variety of ways, including IV infusion, intramuscular injection, nasal spray, and sublingual lozenges. My practice utilizes the sublingual lozenge prescribed by the medical team at Journey Clinical.

  • Yes, ketamine is an FDA approved dru legal in all 50 states and used in hospital settings for surgery and pain management since 1970. It is a top 10 essential medicine according to the WHO. It is widely prescribed off-label for mental health.

  • The peak effects of a ketamine dose, which most patients find pleasant, last for approximately 45 minutes. These effects can make you feel “far from” your body, and facilitate shifts in perception that can often feel expansive in nature. Many people report having unique emotional or visual experiences that can give you a break from habitual thoughts and gain a new perspective on traumatic situations. Your motor and verbal abilities will be reduced, so you’ll be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience.

    Once these effects subside, I will spend the remainder of your appointment giving you space to process and discuss your experience. While it may feel hard to articulate what happens during the experience, patients feel like the insights gained are clear.

  • Ketamine has rapidly-acting antidepressant and mood-enhancing effects, which can take effect within 1-2 hrs after treatment and last up to 2 weeks

    Ketamine works by blocking specific receptors in the brain while stimulating others, to help create new connections and boost neural circuits that regulate stress and mood

  • Your safety is a top priority in these sessions and we’ll closely monitor you throughout the session. Ketamine is a well-established, safe medication when used responsibly. Common short-term side effects include nausea, dizziness or a feeling of disconnection, which are typically mild and temporary. This is why we have you lay down during the experience with the eye mask. With Journey Clinical’s rigorous safety protocols and my support, you’ll have a safe and effective experience.

    The thorough evaluation process means that if there is concern about your safety, you won’t be eligible for treatment. The Journey Clinical team will not prescribe to you if it will be unsafe for you, and they do turn people down who do not meet the eligibility criteria. If you aren’t eligible, your intake will be refunded to you.

  • Research shows that combining psychedelics like ketamine with psychotherapy yields significantly better outcomes compared to using these medications on their own.

    Ketamine is an adjunct to therapy. Like a really solid support that also challenges you to go deeper and to grow into the person you want to be.

    Ketamine has been shown to enhance overall neuroplasticity, which means those stuck ways of thinking and feeling can actually change through growth and reorganization with a smaller amount of effort. And that effort, is the work we do in therapy.

  • In traditional talk therapy, change often takes time and can feel slow, especially when emotional defenses are strong. KAP creates an altered state of consciousness can allows you to bypass those defenses. The ketamine experience acts as a catalyst, and therapy helps guide and ground the process so that change is both meaningful and lasting.